Glory appear the real deal. A fortnight after defeating the reigning Hyundai A-League Champions in their own backyard, Perth have repeated the same feat against the undefeated FFA Cup 2018 winners.

A newfound steel on their travels underlines the edge Tony Popovic has imposed on his side, and leads a host of reasons why the Glory faithful will be optimistic of ending their silverware drought this season.

Another is the form of Keogh. The Irishman struck his fourth consecutive goal to send Glory on their way to victory in the City of Churches, and Keogh’s poaching ability and phenomenal work rate is setting the tone for Perth’s impressive performances.

Shane Lowry and Alex Grant should also be lauded for their colossal presence at the back, who have both have plugged one of the competition’s most leaky defences with expertise.

And the fact Glory are still undefeated without talisman Diego Castro and Matthew Spiranovic – two players every team in the competition would envy – should be a worrying sign for their title contenders.

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Kevin Muscat’s side blew the sorry Mariners away with an electric first half performance engendered by the creativity of Keisuke Honda and James Troisi, who both found the back of the net in the club’s 100th win on home soil.

And with Ola Toivonen now in the fold, Victory could be primed to surge back to the Hyundai A-League forefront in next to no time.

Brilliant Roar rescue act masks worrying trend

If John Aloisi confessed his anger after a slow start cost his side the match in Round 3’s encounter with Perth Glory, the Roar boss must have been tearing his hair out after seventeen minutes of Saturday’s clash with Western Sydney Wanderers.

Oriol Riera and the Wanderers put Brisbane to the sword early on in Mudgee, who have now failed to open the scoring in all four of their matches this season.

But having pulled a draw from the clutches of a looming two-goal deficit, Roar will return to Queensland for a crucial home clash against Melbourne City with the belief they can get off the mark.